


Polished

by missssmon



Series: Orbit [3]
Category: Twosetviolin, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Best Friends, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Family, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Inner Dialogue, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:54:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24730045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missssmon/pseuds/missssmon
Summary: Many experiences had shaped Brett Yang to become who he is today. Eddy Chen was in most of them.Side piece to ‘Eternal’ and ‘Mistakes’, written from Brett’s POV.
Relationships: Eddy Chen/Brett Yang, Eddy Chen/Toni Wei
Series: Orbit [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1786672
Comments: 37
Kudos: 100





	Polished

**Author's Note:**

> Orbit started out as an inspection of Toni's perspective. As the story continues to develop itself in my head, Brett and Eddy demanded their side of the story be told, and what am I to do but comply. Polished completes the trilogy. 
> 
> This story is not meant to be read by the people mentioned in this fiction. Unbetaed. Rating is now MATURE, as there will be profanities and mentions of certain pleasuring actions. I recommend reading the first two for context. 
> 
> This fic is the longest fic I have ever written in my life. I truly appreciate how long fic authors do it and still keep things coherent and engaging.
> 
> Tons of thanks to @tyrelingkitten who entertains all of my whims, TSV, and non-TSV related, to @nyssaki who gives me a lot of writing insight and to J for tons of mental and emotional support. <3
> 
> Huge thanks to @KuroNeko414 for making a  Youtube playlist for further enjoyment of this fic.

_[Saint Saens - Le Cygne](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjy-nySARVw) _

Preteens Eddy and Brett spend a lot of time together, practicing the violin, watching anime, or drinking bubble tea. Eddy is a lanky, awkward boy who plays both violin and piano but prefers the violin, and has way too much acne on his face. Brett is shorter, just as awkward, and hides his face behind his glasses. They bonded in the same youth orchestra and math tutoring class, and their one year age gap withers into nothing when Brett hangs out with Eddy.

Brett learns that Eddy is introverted; he is usually quiet, but after he opens up, Eddy becomes loud and exuberant, almost to point of annoying. Eddy does not do well with human interactions for lengthy amounts of time either, and while this contrasts with Brett who can go on for miles, Brett likes that Eddy respects his space very much. Eddy follows his own feelings and calls things as it is. In the same body lies a lot of kindness and persistence, as well as a great sense of humor. Eddy also calls him calm, cool, and brave, and it makes self-conscious Brett feels very great with himself. 

Brett considers Eddy his best friend in the whole wide world.

_Debussy - La Mer  
_

Once upon a time in a small fishing village in Taiwan, Boyao’s tiny heart is full.

He lives with his grandmother. His parents and his older brother live in the city a few hours away, and they visit him every few weeks or so. Precocious Boyao spends a lot of time with his grandmother, who regales him with folk tales and songs in Taiwanese.

Grandma Yang works as a fisherman. Every first day of the week, she would pull her rickety fishing boat at dawn, armed with her nets and hooks, and young Boyao would hop in as they head into the depths of the ocean. It takes a day to and back, and usually, they stay for two days in the sea. The remaining three days on land, Boyao plays while Grandma Yang repairs her nets, or she would go to the market in her motor-operated cart, while Boyao would sit at the back where the buckets of fish are and enjoy the fresh breeze.

His grandmother teaches him about the types of fish and the importance of patience. He watches when Grandma Yang pulls up her nets from the ocean early morning, counts the fruit of her labors. He learns how to differentiate between which large fishes to capture, and what is considered small to release. Grandma Yang scales and fillets her catch, as well as store the captured goods in big bundles of ice so that the fish will not spoil before they reach the market.

His grandma makes the best sauce for fish, and they eat the freshest raw ones from the fattest schools they catch. In the afternoons, when it’s too hot to fish and Grandma Yang would take her nap, Boyao jumps into the ocean to explore the seabed. When he starts picking up the violin, they would have their practice sessions accompanied by the songs of seagulls and soft strokes of the sea waves.

Boyao loves his grandmother very much, and he knows she loves him too.

His parents and older brother visits the same week Boyao told his grandmother he wants to stay with her forever and be a fisherman. He tears on the doorsteps as his family discusses their pending move to somewhere far, Australia, they called it. Better opportunities for education and work or something. He vaguely remembers this topic being brought up last time they visited, but he has forgotten when nothing happened the month after.

“Boyao, we cannot afford to take care of you in the future if we stay here in Taiwan. The cost of living is high in this country and eventually, you must go to school and learn.” Papa Yang said as he sits down next to Boyao. “We only want what’s best for you and your brother.”

“I don’t want to leave...” Boyao whispers as he hugs his father tightly. “Grandma will be here alone.” 

"I am not alone.” Grandma Yang calls, and Boyao turns back to see her motioning to the ocean. “I am home here, with the ocean. You are still young, my boy. When you find your true home, you will understand."

”My true home?” Boyao does not understand, fraught with confusion.

Grandma Yang sits down on his other side. She gives a look at Papa Yang, who nods. 

”Boyao, humans all start out in life not knowing where they will end. Once upon a time, I was like you, and I did not want to leave this village.” Papa Yang looks out to the darkened beach, which stays silent in front of them. “My mother told me the same thing and pushed me to the city when I was old enough to take care of myself. I found my home, who I want to take care of and protect.” Boyao blinks and feels his mother sitting behind him, his brother beside her. He lets go of his father to fall back on his mother’s shins, and Mama Yang brushes his hair softly with her fingers.

”You need to venture out and explore the world.” Grandma Yang continues. “There are so many things for you to discover beyond this tiny village, Boyao.” 

_Sarasate- Introduction & Tarantella _

Brett was close to his 17th birthday when he starts getting wet dreams. He has learned in school that is pretty typical for teenage boys his age. His friends in school talks bout feverish dreams where they smush their faces into boobs and run their hands up short skirts, horny looks on their faces as they giggle to themselves.

Brett dreams in the middle of the night to Eddy’s gentle gazes and kisses and wakes up to a mess on his sheets. The first time, he identifies these to plain infatuation for his best friend. He is preparing to attend the conservatory to fulfill his dreams of being a soloist, Eddy is working towards medical school and they have been spending less time together compared to a year ago. He insists on thinking that, even as he chucks his blankets into the washing machine and his insides burn with the images of dream Eddy being so close to him.

Andrea, the principal cellist from the Australian Youth Orchestra, reached out to him one day when Eddy came to sit in on their recitals. Brett had invited Eddy, and they can hang out after Brett is done. 

“All work and no play make Eddy a dull boy!” Brett has said.

“These days, people call it slaving.” Eddy groaned before following him anyway. 

”Boyfriend?” The girl with purple-colored neck length hair nudges, gesturing at Eddy, who was waving madly at Brett from the audience during orchestra break.

Brett shakes his head, waving back as frenetically at Eddy. “My best friend.” 

“Could've me fooled.” Andrea singsongs, eyes sharp and piercing into Brett, who goes deadpan at her jibe. “So, 'cha single?” At this age, attention from girls is no longer a foreign entity to Brett, and he nods in affirmation. Andrea was the first who pointed out anything in relation to Eddy, however, and for that, he is intrigued. ”Single and unavailable. Gotcha.” She snickered, eyeing Eddy again.  
  
“What do you mean?” Brett huffs, getting a bit flustered.

“Never seen cha eyes shine as much as today the whole time in the orchestra,” Andrea teased. “Does he know?” Brett ponders on this, pats his shirt down, and swallows. Andrea grins, putting an arm around his shoulder as she leans in to whisper into his ear. Brett sees Eddy looking their way with frowning eyebrows and he feels his cheeks heat. “No problem Brett, I’m gay too,” Andrea says into his ear. “This can be our little secret.” 

Brett frowns as this new word reverberated through his form. At that moment though, the conductor signals everyone to start recitals again. She nips his ear and mouths “little secret!” And she waltzes back to her seat as he sears a glare down her back.

When Eddy met up with him later, asking who’s this girl who got so close to Brett in the orchestra, _is it your girlfriend you are keeping a secret from me?_ , but Brett was so flustered by Eddy’s close proximity to his face that he could not answer. Eddy’s mischievous curled up lip mirrored Andrea’s from earlier, but instead of slight annoyance, it only made his heart feel like it could jump out of his chest. 

The third or fourth time he dreams about a singular male with the same crooked teeth and tousled hair, Brett realizes that he was never really interested in boobs or skirts anyways. 

_Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto in E Minor, II Andante_

When Boyao was three years old, he learned to swim. Boyao is lucky that he has his favorite grandmother in the whole wide world to teach him. Or so he thinks.

After announcing that his first swimming lesson is today, Grandma Yang threw him in the water.

Right when they were in the middle of the ocean.

Completely blindsided, his defense mechanism sets in, and Boyao flail in the unfamiliar torrents. He remembers the gush of salted water in his lungs as his tiny body sinks below a comfortable level. He remembers the fear grappling against his whole body as he attempts to remain afloat.

"Do not struggle!" He hears his grandmother crying. "Just accept the flow of things and learn to be friends with the water! Kick your feet!" He remembers submerging and strong arms carrying his tiny body out of the water, and air rushing into his head when he can breathe again.

Boyao feels a bit left out that evening when Grandma Yang jumps into the water, winking at her grandson before she dived underwater. He sneezes into his warm towel instead.

The next time, or really, a few times after, it was no longer a surprise when he gets thrown. Despite the fear he now associates with water, it is clear his grandmother has not given up. 

“Grandma!” Boyao protests, bobbing against the currents as his grandma went to sit down on her fishing chair, not batting an eye. 

“You know what to do!” She announces. “Accept that sometimes you cannot control what gets thrown to you. Just go with the flow. Kick your feet!”

Boyao wants her to save him, but he sees his grandma picking up a magazine instead. Disappointed, Boyao pouts at his grandmother. Grandma Yang peeks at him curiously behind her upside-down magazine, and Boyao stares back.

He belatedly realizes that the clench around his heart has suddenly disappeared. He has stopped sinking, while his mind has stopped thinking about struggling.

“Kick your feet now!” She orders, and almost immediately, like what his grandmother has said, Boyao starts kicking his feet in the water. He moves his arms like how he remembers what she has done, and tests his movements a bit. Like a gear clicking in place, his body starts going with the flow of the ocean. 

Boyao starts smiling at his grandma, waving excitedly. 

“Swim to me boy! Don't act like a fool now!” Grandma Yang stands up, putting her hands on her waist, but a big smile is growing on her face. 

Young Boyao quickly learns. He stops his waving and continues waddling towards his grandmother’s direction. After what feels like forever, he reaches the edge of the boat and climbs up, adrenaline rushing through his tiny head. His eyes are watery and his lungs are burning, but he did it! The snaking feeling has receded for a moment, retreating into its dark quarters. 

Grandma Yang chuckles and sits back down on her chair, putting the magazine away. “Do you want to go for another round?” Boyao nods enthusiastically. “Alright, we can go later once you have your nap for the day. Come here.” Grandma Yang gestures to the boy with a dry towel, and Boyao climbs up onto his grandmother’s lap, letting himself be dried. 

He falls asleep thinking of the blue color of the sea, and his grandma pressing against his body. 

_Saint-Saens - Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso_

TwoSet Violin officially forms in 2014. Brett has graduated and is now performing with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Eddy is in the last year of his degree. Like the carefree spirit she is, Andrea moved to Perth after graduation with her girlfriend to join the Perth Symphony Orchestra, ‘because only doing classical music stifles my soul!’

Andrea comments over the phone how much Brett has grown over the years, coos like a momma bird. Brett murmurs under his breath how she has not changed in comparison. Andrea cheerily says she does not need to when she's never been afraid of anything, just take the world as it is. She asks how is Eddy. Brett tells her TwoSet is fine. He hears her swears a _' fuck?_ " and it’s not really an accusation that he is dodging her question.

Brett reasons there is a lot of things to work on the next year, with TwoSet and getting ready for his fellowship with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, to think about anything else. Andrea comments that Eddy is not going to be single forever if Brett keeps pretending like everything is fine and dandy. Brett answers that he is not looking for anyone and Eddy has been going on dates with various girls. Andrea calls him so stuck up his own ass he cannot see clearly. Brett jibes that he wears glasses for a reason. Brett hears Andrea sticking her tongue out over the phone. 

Brett leaves for Sydney. Eddy joins the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. He suppresses the sadness he feels for Eddy not being with him at the Sydney Symphony Orchestra like Eddy said he would, although he knows that Eddy’s two-year absence from the music world plus his one-year medical sabbatical may have attributed to the executive decision of the symphony to reject Eddy's application. That was something out of their control. 

They started posting on Youtube. Brett and Eddy found their niche in music covers, and Brett has fun uploading all the film and drama scores he listens to with Eddy. He does a few pop song covers, alien to his musical knowledge, but Eddy enjoys doing them so much, that Brett goes along anyway, learning foreign names like Imogen Heap and Avicii. He always picks up on Eddy’s favorites.

It was smooth and worked for a few months. Brett tries to socialize in Sydney and make some friends so he does not need to hinge on the only two close ones he really cares bout, but he quickly realizes he made acquaintances and co-workers, rather than lifelong friends. Hyung would come a year later, but by then Brett would have adapted to this feeling of being a stranger in an even stranger place.

He quashes the perpetual feeling of gloom within and tries to take consolation in phone or video calls with Eddy and Andrea. Most of the time, he drowns himself in work and in editing for TwoSet Violin.

Slowly, he notices the sudden excuses to not visit Sydney even for video recordings, the hushed voice of a girl in the background when he calls Eddy to says hi, and the short conversations instead of the long ones they have had before. Eddy claims he has been getting busier, and Brett is not oblivious to have an inkling on what that would be. 

Brett comes back to Brisbane to Eddy hiding his girlfriend from his knowledge. Of course, it is nothing dramatic, Brett reasoned. Eddy has never had a serious girlfriend before, for as long as Brett had known him.

It does not explain why Brett feels like a hidden secret from Toni or why the need for Eddy to do so, and it makes him angry. He feels rage and irrational feelings smoldering in his veins, and it’s so strong that he can crush something. 

Maybe its just jealousy, Andrea helpfully offered. Brett swears at her to shut up over the phone and Andrea cackles. 

He meets Toni, the keeper of Eddy's affections. She is sweet and shy and reminds Brett of Eddy in some ways. He sees the couple exchanging tender smiles at each other the whole time they were visiting Brett in Sydney and Brett does not think about how despite having Eddy beside him, he still feels very much alone, like a spectator looking inside a glass bubble he cannot crack.

The weekend after Eddy and Toni went back to Brisbane, Brett visits some secluded gay bar in Sydney and hooks up with a guy whose name he does not care to remember. He imagines Eddy’s hands on him, Eddy _in_ him, and cries his name when he comes. 

He did not visit Brisbane much that year.

_Ernst - Last Rose of Summer_

“Mr. Brett Yang, you’re Mr. Eddy Chen’s emergency contact, can you come to the hospital and sign his papers so we can get him situated into ward?”

When Brett looks back on their whole lifetime of friendship, this particular memory was when he first learned that Eddy’s anxiousness transfers to him.

Someone had found Eddy in the practice room in the middle of the night, having a panic attack as he was unable to move his limbs.  Having decided the last minute to attend conservatory again, Eddy is way behind his peers, and Brett knew that Eddy is putting in a lot of practice to catch up. Brett joined Eddy whenever he could, but they were studying in different years in the conservatory and learning different pieces. Brett would be lying if he had not seen something of this magnitude coming. 

The last words Eddy had told him when Brett asked him to come and eat with his family tonight since it is a Chinese holiday and Eddy is not going to be eating with his family, rang in his head. "It's alright bro. I will grab something later and see you tomorrow!"

Brett's family was understanding when Brett said he could not stay after dinner. He promises to update them on Eddy and rushed to the hospital. There was a whole whirlwind of time between then and actually arriving at the hospital and completion of paperwork, Brett thinks he can go dizzy, but that rush instantly subsided when he sees Eddy on the bed. Medical lingoes flew past Brett’s head during the whole diagnosis discussion with the doctors, but the one thing he got was that Eddy had to be in a wheelchair for a while, and he cannot play the violin until he gets better.

"Not even for an hour?" Eddy asks the doctor, as he is hoisted into his hospital bed by some male nurses. "I promise I will time myself."

"Mr. Chen, your nerves almost got permanently damaged. You must rest in order for the strain to go or risk being paralyzed forever.” the doctor answers sternly. Brett was quiet, shaking his head from behind the doctor and the nurses as Eddy gave him puppy eyes. He senses Eddy’s nervousness when the doctors tested Eddy’s limbs for reactions and Brett saw that Eddy cannot feel anything. The cold grip on his heart seized over when the doctors shake their heads and broke cleanly when the hope in Eddy's eyes quiver.

“When... can I move again?” Eddy asks somberly when the doctors have tapped his knee and no response. 

”You are lucky the nerves are not completely severed. We will monitor you until your nerves heal. For now, we will prescribe you on physical therapy as well, and some medicine to speed up the nerve regeneration.” 

The first time Brett sees Eddy looking so forlorn, his best friend is on the verge of losing mobility, and he feels his own heartbeat dying down like the realization sinking in his mind.

[_Vaughn Williams - Lark_ _Ascending_](https://youtu.be/ay4Wid8DcIA)

Eddy and Toni descended into a long-distance relationship when the latter branched out to Japan to join the Tokyo Metropolitan Philharmonic Orchestra. Eventually, their friendship mends, Eddy's enthusiasm, and perseverance always his strong suit. Brett is just happy Eddy is putting more effort into TwoSet again, even if he knows he is not the inspiration for Eddy’s newly improved work ethic, to be angry at Eddy anymore. TwoSet continues to build momentum, and eventually, Brisbane starts to shrink, paving way for something way bigger.

If they can generate mass media attention in Brisbane, they discussed with each other, why would they not be able to do this across the world? This was the seed for their Kickstarter idea. 

They told Toni about it over a video call who preens in pride. Brett realizes that he has been gazing at his best friend for a moment too long when he notices Toni’s eyes trained on him. Toni's face showed one of quiet acknowledgment, the same type of expression that Andrea has shown years earlier. Brett instinctually knew this was not the first time Toni noticed.

The Kickstarter begins. They fly out to Sydney because they could not get permits to busk in Brisbane. That was not really a problem, Brett is familiar with the city and leads them. The duo props themselves close to a park to sleep in their sleeping bags after one long day of busking. Brett takes in a deep breath to hold his ribcage in when Eddy stretches and Brett can see a sliver of his torso clearly in the dim night light. Eddy clearly, has been working out, with protrusion of body lines where bones should be, and muscle firmness instead of soft flab. It has been years and yet, just a mere tease of Eddy and Brett is once again, the same starry-eyed 17-year old that sees the world in his best friend.

Brett can hear the honesty in his voice when Eddy says that yes, he is very much in love with his girlfriend. Eddy worries about how far they will go, and Brett, ever being the steadfast best friend, assures him that they should be fine. Even if he detected a pang in his heart, Brett braves himself to fight through this mental torture for Eddy's adoration of Toni. This is about his best friend's happiness, after all. And oh, Eddy wants to introduce Toni's single girlfriends to him? How did the conversation drift to this? 

Brett laughs and rolls over so Eddy could not see his face. Brett had some experience with men now, some one night stands, and some friends with benefits. Maybe Eddy is just oblivious to what Brett is up to, or, his traitorous brain proposed, he has been lying to Eddy so much that Eddy cannot tell his lies from truths anymore. 

On other days, perhaps Brett can make a retort. Just jibes on how he could just perform _Salut d'Amour_ and gets girls lining up at his door. 

"You're always clamming up when I bring up girls, bro. Is it Andrea? Or are you dating someone right now and not telling me? Hmmm?” Eddy forced him to turn over, and Brett complied. 

“I am happy now, dude. Doing this project with you is more than anything I ever wanted.” Brett kept his eyes closed, lest they betray how he feels. “But we have to wake up in a few hours and I don’t want to talk anymore.” 

He turns back against Eddy. He hears Eddy whine at first, but Brett stays still, pretends he has gone to sleep. Finally, Eddy whispers a 'good night' and shifted in his sleeping bag. It was not long before Brett heard soft snores, and he released a deep breath into the chilly night air. He turns back to look at his best friend, and Brett daringly reached forward and brushed the hair off Eddy's closed eyes. "Good night, Eddy," Brett answers softly. 

_Elgar - Salut d'Amour_

The first time Brett tells Eddy he loves him, it was the Kickstarter moment when they finally hit the 50k needed to fund their tour, in front of a gushing Facebook public. In a rush of emotions, Eddy had hugged his friend so tight. Knowing that Toni is probably on the line watching, he has uttered a quick 'bro hug!', and nestled in the very brief embrace. Eddy holds him so intimately with one arm, Eddy's lips brushing his nape, and he feels so much overwhelming and affection at that moment, that "I love you Eddy", came out firm and unshaken.

"I love you too, man," Eddy returns, and Brett sucks in a deep breath at the tickle it sends down his spine. He closes his eyes and takes this chance to center his own feelings before he pulls back from the hug.

He does not think about Toni's chilly tone on the phone when he called her, trying to be a mediator. He does not think about how his words backfired and hurt someone who matters. He does not think about his best friend's anxiety and his girlfriend's first 'fight'. He drives Eddy to the airport so Eddy can win his lady love back. 

Brett drives home in record speed. He throws himself in the shower, letting the water run louder than his tears. He lets his hands run through himself, as he imagines them to be rougher and bigger. He thinks about how Eddy has been nestled in his neck one of those Kickstarter nights, trembling from fear and anxiety and worry, when Brett rubs his back. He spills and collapses onto the floor, ragged breaths in the invisible air where Eddy's imaginary body would have been. He feels obscene afterward and crawls into bed, feeling sorry for himself for a bit. 

The text from Eddy the day after with a ":)" did nothing to abate his misery, but at least, things are going right for someone.

_Korngold - The Adventures of Robin Hood_

Grandma Yang maybe a fisherman by occupation, but she is also a violinist, having learned the craft from her father at a young age. She has a small violin that she bequeaths to Boyao when he turned 4. "You are not going to be a fisherman like me, Boyao, you will do something different in life. So you must learn something cultured."

With that, Boyao's violin lessons began.

She made Boyao play at least an hour a day, teach him to play scales, and how to read music notes. Her lessons may not be as refined as what Brett will learn later in life, but it was enough for Boyao, and he is an eager student, highly interested in how the bow makes noises when brushed against the strings on his violin. Living in a fishing village occupied by salty water and humid air is not the best condition for a violin, and she explained that to Boyao, but Grandma Yang still tunes the violin to the best of her ability by humming the notes under her breath. Boyao learns that his grandmother does not have perfect pitch, but she tells him that no one is perfect in this world and must make do with what one has. 

He learns two pieces from her. One is a Taiwanese folk song, whose name he does not know. Another is Korngold's composition, The Adventures of Robin Hood, the name of which Brett will remember later. As random as that was, Grandma Yang informs Boyao that her father learned the piece during the last two years of the Japanese occupation. Grandma Yang's father was an orchestral musician in the Japanese court, and apparently the generals enjoyed the movie so much, the musicians will play the piece often to please him. 

Boyao eventually gives up on the thought of being a fisherman and decides he wants to be a soloist one day. Grandma Yang chuckles when Boyao stands in the middle of the boat, playing his violin as if he is playing for a crowd. He beams when Grandma Yang claps at him, and bows as perfectly as he could.

Contrary to his expectations, Boyao did not learn to play either composition completely by the time he was going to leave for Australia. 

_Dvorak - Humoresque_

Andrea had warned him that messing with his own emotions is bound to backfire. Brett had assured Andrea that his habit of self-discipline is not built in one day. 

The last two years or so have been rapid for both Brett and TwoSetViolin; the pinnacle being their world tour, something he and Eddy have long talked about since before TwoSet is even formed. The Twoset channel is close to getting one million subscribers. Brett gained a lot of sympathy for Toni, having to weather through a whole lot of affections (and thirst) towards Eddy, who had long ago decided to manage their relationship off-screen.

So when he hears from Eddy that Toni is coming back to Australia after her year sojourn at the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Brett is quite elated. 

When Eddy decides that he wants to do a ‘hanging out as single dudes for one last time’ at the bar, Brett knows it is serious.

He is pleasantly surprised that Eddy is proposing to his girlfriend to move in with him, to catch up on all the time they have been apart. Over some shots, Eddy explains that he should take care of Toni as she has been such a wonderful girl. Eddy haphazardly toasts with Brett and misses, extending his hand too far down the table and mutters that he should love her because Toni puts up with so much. Brett agrees on this one internally. Eddy cries that he should be feeling his heart beating fast for Toni because she is the love of his life. 

Brett has seen Eddy thoroughly upset only once in his lifetime. He does not understand why Eddy would carry the same expression while talking about Toni, the initial pleasantness rushing down the drain like the alcohol swiftly draining from Eddy's cup. He leaves his drink untouched and winces internally when Eddy grabs it to chug it as well. When Brett tries to stop him from ordering more, Eddy drops face down on the table.

Eddy slumps in his shoulders as Brett walks faster to Eddy's home, his arms hooked around Eddy's thighs. He has never seen Eddy this drunk, not even that one time in Tokyo, and worry pools itself in his stomach. 

“I should marry her, you know?” Eddy announces out of nowhere. So he has woken up, Brett thinks. Eddy's breath reeks as he perched his chin on Brett's shoulder, looking all cute and shit. Brett should not be feeling aroused for no reason. 

“Oh, Bretty Brett.” Eddy rubs his cheek against his best friend's hair, and Brett realizes he has let his feelings slip out. “Do I hear jealousy?” Eddy laughs again, a sharp tone cutting through Brett's left ear and Brett looks up at the sky in a silent prayer of how true that sounded. “Haha, I am only kidding.” Brett shuffles his steps, the tightness in his pants not helping. Silence, as it seems Eddy has fallen into a stupor. Eddy's house is in sight, and Brett thinks he can drop Eddy home and run. 

”I am confused.” Eddy raises a pointer, wagging it around as if to make a point. Oh right, he asked a question. “I... don’t want Toni to come back,” Eddy mumbles softly. Brett feels the blood drain from his face, the ringing getting louder in his head. “Is it bad I’ve grown accustomed to our long-distance?” Oh. He should have caught on earlier, shouldn't he? 

“I think it is normal. Every relationship needs work." Brett tries to sound nonchalant; like clockwork on steroids, he manages to pick Eddy up again through the door and into his room. “Eventually you will feel you need her around again. Didn’t you want to marry her?” 

“Yes... and no.” Eddy frowns when Brett dropped Eddy on the bed a bit too heavily, tucks him under his blankets. Brett knows he is mumbling nonsense now, patting Eddy's shoulder in what he considers assurance, although his palms are starting to build up in a sweat. He thinks of running. Everything is spinning; he is not even sure when Eddy got a grip around his wrist. Eddy leans up from his bed and stares closer into Brett, his grip not loosening. 

“A good night's sleep will do you some good.” Brett calmly says, trying to wiggle himself away from Eddy at the same time. 

"You think so?" Eddy asks in the voice that sounds lost, and Brett does not like this tone. This sounded like the time when Eddy confessed in him that he is going to be a doctor route. When has Eddy gotten closer? He could start connecting the acne scars on Eddy's face if he tries hard enough. 

"I know so." Brett tries to keep cool, although he could not stop blinking at the closing distance, at the hand that lodged itself against his cheek.

At the lips on his.

He realized Eddy was trying to move his lips to Brett's unresponsive ones, nudging a reaction.

Brett's flashbacks through his memories; this is like his teenage wet dreams coming true, in the _worst_ possible moment. The chill inside his chest bides over, a familiar friend.

Everything that happened next was swift; he pushed Eddy backward, loudly urging the other to stop. He staggers back a bit, extending the distance between their faces, and Eddy loses control of his limbs, hand dropping off from Brett as his whole body plops on the bed. 

He thinks of Toni, of Eddy's words tonight, of Andrea's knowing smirks in the crevices of his mind, of his own thoughts going 'I told you so', and lost count how long it took before Eddy finally closes his eyes. Brett falls on the ground, he breathes in and out, slowly backs up towards the wall, where he can still see Eddy, completely knocked out on the bed. His heart beats so fast he thinks this is a culmination of Eddy’s anxiety with his.

After making sure Eddy is set with a hot towel, some painkillers, and water by his table side, Brett leaves the house. Pulling out his phone shakily, he immediately dials the one number he has known by heart (besides Eddy). The line connected after one dial tone.

"Yo mate, isn't it like three am over 'ere?"

"He kissed me." Brett breathes. Andrea squeals over the phone, a pitch too high for Brett's liking.

"Didcha like it?" 

Brett sat down on the street curb. He leaned against a lamppost, the only solitary light in the dark street. Brett breathes again, stilling his emotions that were still very much tumultuous. "What did I tell you already? He is still with Toni." 

"Fuck dude, that's messed up." Andrea sounded slightly taken aback. Brett hears Amanda asking who's calling over the phone, and Andrea answers, 'Brett, important', and Amanda went 'okay, babe'. Some silence before she spoke again. "Hey, 'cha 'ere?" 

"Yeah, I'm here." He looks up into the sky, feeling time slowing down considerably. Maybe for the first time, since he started noticing his own feelings, he has finally calmed down. Brett must have walked for quite a distance. He thinks back on their busking days, how they could have given up and stopped their dreams, but kept going until everything worked out. He reminisces to their conservatory days, and their high school days even. Brett figures he must have stopped counting the seconds once he fell in love with Eddy and just wanted time to speed up so he can let go of this feeling and move on. Wow, he must be stupid.

"No shit." Andrea murmured. "What are 'cha gon' do?" Brett shrugs, remembering Eddy's passionate face when he was talking bout Toni all those nights ago against what he saw tonight. "Dude, ya ok?" 

"I think I'll be fine," Brett answered. He looks at his wrist; clean and bare from where Eddy's fingers had held him tightly before. He moves it around as if the marks will reappear if shone by the street light. "Toni is coming back in two weeks." He repeats it like a mantra. 

_[Brett Yang - Lofi Track](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdtRZZq37J8) _

Brett leans back against Eddy’s pillow and stretches his arms out as he makes him comfortable. They were watching some videos on Youtube, or at least, Eddy was. Brett has just started his employment with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and he is tired from a long day of recital and performance. He closes his eyes and crosses his arms together, as violin music plays via Eddy’s laptop and the rain pitter-pattering softly outside, a deadly combo that threatens to lull any willing soul into dreamland.   
  
Bro, bro, bro!” Eddy pats him out of nowhere, and Brett rubs his eye, having almost pacified to sleep. “I have a great idea!”

“Hmmmm...?” Brett blinks, staring at the other blearily. 

“What about making Youtube videos?” Eddy stated excitedly, his voice booming through the stillness of the single room. “Weren’t we always talking about wanting to spread more love to the current generation regarding classical music?”

”That's a good idea,” Brett mumbles, the bolts in his head tinkers slowly, like it is trying to restart. He briefly eyes the time on the laptop, and the bolts cease. He slumps against Eddy's shoulder instead, sighing. 

“Mate, I mean it! YouTube is such an expansive platform and gets to reach everyone over the world. Let’s try something here!” Eddy shakes him to say something, anything. 

“That sounds great.” Eddy’s grin got wider as Brett’s eyes close, whatever Eddy is saying drifting off with the music in his ears. 

Later on, their website profile will say that the inception of TwoSet Violin was in a dorm room during music camp. They carefully left out that it was Eddy's dorm room and music camp, and all Brett did was to sneak in because he can. (The Queensland Symphony Orchestra was closer to the conservatory than Brett's parents anyway, and he was _tired_.) 

_He Zhanhao & Chen Gang - Butterfly Lovers_

The day fifteen-year-old Eddy tells Brett that he is thinking about medical school, Brett learns the meaning of abiding an apocalypse. Theoretically, the world is still whole, grass still green, etc, but Brett must have let his face shown because Eddy drapes a hand around his best friend and nuzzles Brett’s hair with his nose.

Even as preteens, Eddy already towers over Brett. Brett sulks as Eddy closes in even more, and teasingly rubs his face all over Brett, messing up his neatly combed hair in the process. 

"What about us?" Brett asks quietly. "What about playing the violin together?"

Eddy swirls a finger around Brett’s shoulder. Eddy tells him about his family expectations, with Belle already being a musician in the family, his parents wanted at least one of their children to be either a doctor or dentist. Brett is spared because his brother decided to go to dentistry school, but Eddy does not have such an option. Besides, Eddy muses, he is good at sciences and maths, and he is curious to know if there is something for him beyond music. He could be a dermatologist and do something good for the world. Eddy sounds a bit sad and Brett feels a bit helpless.

“Anyhow,” Eddy begins as if he is finally revealing some sort of secret. “You want to be a soloist. We are not going to be playing violins together anymore when that happens.” He said nothing more and lets go of Brett, going back to the math tutoring homework that they were working on together, or more like Eddy was doing it and Brett was copying from Eddy.

He does not need mathematics to be a soloist, but Brett simmers in the touch that Eddy just vacated, feeling a little left out.

_[TwoSet Violin - The BAE Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-f7LUhIXvE) _

Eddy is the strongest person Brett knows.

Sometimes it would mean standing for the bullies when Eddy gets picked on for no reason other than being Asian, sometimes it would mean playing the violin for hours to no end to perfect his intonation. Of course, Brett cannot forget that is the reason why Eddy is now in this predicament.

About two days after his diagnosis, Eddy tries to climb onto the wheelchair from his hospital bed, laughing in glee at Brett's panic when he rushes forward too late and Eddy barely keeps his balance, falling off his bed onto the floor. 

"Mate, what are you doing?" Brett chastises, as he exerts his limited stamina to situate Eddy on the chair. Luckily, for all the height that he has, Eddy is scrawny, and Brett was able to get Eddy comfortable after a few attempts. Eddy groans and tries to wave his lifeless hands around. 

"I need to practice my arm strength! I need to help myself so that I can heal faster!" 

"Yes, but you need to rest first before you can do anything, per doctor's orders." Brett walks behind Eddy and starts pushing him out of his ward. "Where are you trying to go?" 

Eddy looks at Brett and slumps against his wheelchair. "I would like to go to the hospital gardens, please. I am getting tired of the white walls." 

Brett spins the wheelchair 360 degrees and chuckles at Eddy's expression of horror, then laughter. "Aye, aye captain! SS Brett headed to the gardens!" 

He makes chugging noises as they walked through the hospital corridor, and Eddy adding echos after him. They both laughed at the bewildered faces of the nurses and doctors and did not stop until they reached the garden.   
A bit out of breath now, Brett gingerly turns Eddy towards a quiet corner of the gardens where the white roses linger. Brett picks the spot because it’s quiet and obscure from the main walkways, and there is a small bench that they can sit on and hang out. Eddy calls him a scout for figuring out things for Eddy’s convenience, and Brett fought hard internally not to blush.   
Brett sits on the bench, and Eddy sits in his wheelchair, as they both watch the other patients and doctors strolling outside their hidden sanctuary. People watching is a shared past time of theirs, and Brett hums a tune as he sees an elderly man pluck a white rose and offers it to his female companion, an elderly lady. 

"Do you think we will find a love like that?" Eddy's voice sounds dreamy. "That even in old age, to still stare at each other like that?" Brett gazes at Eddy, and he wonders if the same expression mirrors on his face. 

"I think so," Brett whispers, and quickly ducks when he sees Eddy's body turning to him. "I believe that everyone would get a love like that in their lifetime."

"What if, you already found what you are looking for, but you just did not know it yet?" Eddy questions, tapping his armrest. Brett wills Eddy to continue, holding in anything he wanted to say. "You know, for me, it is probably music. I choose to come back after leaving the youth orchestra, leaving everything that ties me as a musician. It is like reconnecting to a severed root. Medicine is a good option, would have been a great future prospect, but in the long run, I didn't think I would have been happy." He laughs, and it sounds a bit bittersweet to Brett's ears. "I am not too happy now either, the state that I am in, but at least I have you to talk to me to instead of the medical students that I probably will find too snobbish and uptight."

"You're bad with schedules too, and you sleep a lot. It did not make sense that you wanted to be a doctor." Brett snickers and Eddy made a face. 

"You are right! Although that would be bad for being a musician too. I always sleep past my morning classes. I guess I can not do anything that requires a morning schedule." Eddy frowns, pursing his lips. The nerves on his face have been undamaged, and in the past two days, Brett has seen Eddy compose many expressions on his face as constantly as possible. He guesses that Eddy is still trying to keep a hold on normalcy for himself despite the situation.

"What would you be doing then? Even as a musician you need to wake up for recitals." 

"I will figure something out," Eddy answers. Brett shifts his gaze from Eddy back to the elderly couple. The elderly lady now has a rose tucked at her ear and is blushing like a schoolgirl, as the elderly man grinned from ear to ear. He thinks of togetherness, everlasting love, and he feels Eddy's determination sink into his soul. 

On that day, a decision was made. 

[ _Ramin Djawadi - Game of Thrones Main Theme_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oDB_vZwwO4)

He gets a message from his best friend asking 'what the fuck do you mean by "please get better, don't forget Toni is coming back in two weeks?" '.

TwoSet has to continue, Brett thinks. He messages Eddy to meet him in a cafe they like to frequent for coffee. Safer if they talk outside than at Eddy’s house.

Brett’s insides twist as Eddy sits down across him, face wrecked and tired. Brett orders breakfast for both of them and wait until the food arrives, the air still between them. He is really aware of everything as he picks up his spoon. Eddy stares at his cup of cappuccino, not making any attempt to drink it.

“I’m gay, and I’m taken.” he murmurs when Brett realizes Eddy is not going to speak first. 

”How come I never heard of this.” Eddy frowns. Of course, he has not, Brett thinks, when he has never shared that part of himself. He stirs his coffee, looks into the dark color of his drink. He does not even like black coffee.

“I do not want to let this affect our friendship or our work. I realized I was gay in the second year of conservatory.” Brett can probably mark a chalkboard with how much lies he is spewing. He cruises through Eddy's questions like a speeding boat; yes he has tried sleeping with men, yes he prefers men. No, he chose not to tell Eddy about his sexuality. Yes, he is taken. His boyfriend is Bob. Brett lays it out like what he has practiced to himself; Bob was some random guy he met while out. He observes Eddy's reaction, while he throws in more lies. The other guy stares intensely like he can burn holes through flesh, and Brett shudders inwardly as he asks Eddy to remain professional while they film for TwoSetViolin. 

“Oh, yes, of course.” Eddy looks down, finally taking a small nibble of his toast. He sounds defeated. Brett looks at his own food and decided that he had no more appetite. 

Brett nods quietly. He could not look Eddy in the eye. “Good. Thank you.” Brett just wants to go home and hide in his bed forever. 

He would not though, because they had to work. Perks of working with your crush that you are currently on uncomfortable terms with includes, well, pretending everything is alright. Brett wonders if he’s a masochist for insisting they keep recording videos and remaining professional. 

They film the live stream for the 1 million subs a week after. On air, he is able to joke happily with Eddy, discussing how happy they are to achieve one million and thanking everyone for their support. It was easy, concentrating on the video and not staring at Eddy. Brett focuses on the messages on the screen, talking to virtual people he has not met instead of the one living person who was sitting next to him. They did look at each other for a few moments in their all easy banter, keeping it all-natural and normal, but Brett was quick to revert to the screen lest his own emotions spill. The live stream was completed without any hiccups, along with the video recordings after. Brett thinks, he can live with this. 

He briefly notices Eddy staring at his phone multiple times over the next few weeks, his eyes woeful. Brett feels a stone lodged in his throat but he makes no move to comfort the other. Brett knows Toni is back in Australia by now. He leaves a text and voice mail to Toni's phone. He calls Andrea too, who sarcastically commends him for being the world's number one best friend.

_Bach - Violin Sonata No. 3_

“Hey, Brett. Congrats on 1mil.” Toni’s voice came through his phone, and Brett feels defeated at the tone. Toni is trying to stay cheery and happy, but he hears the solemnness in her voice.

“He was waiting all day for you to congratulate him.” Andrea should probably give him a salute of the highest order.

“I sent him a text.” Toni answers. Brett leans back on his chair and wonders, wonders if he should do anything.

“.. I have a boyfriend.” Brett tries. “His name is Bob.” 

“I trust you, Brett.” Toni sighed into the phone. “I always have. But don’t lie to me.”

If Toni saw through his lies, he doubts Eddy believes him either. Brett closes his eyes and curses softly under his breath. 

Something in Brett breaks through the stained glass. He tells Toni about the whole kissing incident and their resolution in the cafe. How Eddy is avoiding him now, except for work. He feels like a snitch after, but he cannot have his best friend’s girlfriend not knowing the truth; such was his love for the other and how he wants the couple to remain happy. 

“Is that why he’s rushing for us to move in together?” Toni asked aloud, and Brett ignores the pang that is telling him how he knew Toni thinks it is pathetic too. 

“He loves you,” Brett whispered. He swallows down betraying memories of Eddy's lips on his, the look from that night.  
  
“He loved me _once_ ,” Toni answers after a while, and Brett hears just a tiny crack in Toni's voice. He marvels at how strong Eddy's girlfriend is and how quickly she sees through things; and closes his eyes unhappily. “You’ve loved him for the longest time.” 

_Dvorak: New World Symphony_

After they moved, Brett visited his grandmother once.

It was not that Brett forgot to visit his grandmother, on the contrary, he missed her so much. His parents got her a phone so she can call, but the area Grandma Yang lives in has bad reception, and it goes dead when she is at sea. Brett would write to Grandma Yang if he would, but he wrote only English and Grandma Yang does not know how to read the language. He wanted to visit, but his parents had no time to take him to see her, too busy with work, and it was only when he got slightly older, that his parents were okay with him flying out on his own to Taiwan to visit.

It was also because Brett insisted, after a certain turn of events. 

Brett notices the solemnity in the village when he arrived; stifling as the stillness blanketing the house when he arrived. Grandma Yang looks a lot older and frail, but she perks up at how much taller he has become, petting his hair and proceeds to complain in the same breath about his glasses. Brett becomes Boyao again, leans in to hug his grandmother tightly, and cocoons in her shawl. He is too big to climb onto his lap now, however, and instead sat down beside her on a small chair. 

Grandma Yang could no longer go out to fish on her own after she got a stroke that almost paralyzed her a year prior. The seizure that Grandma Yang had, his parents said, was almost fatal, and made her very weak to travel by air, when Brett asked if she could come to Australia to live with them so they could take care of her. When he posed the same question to Grandma Yang, she looked him in the eye firmly, the same unmoving gaze that had struck into him as a 3-year-old remaining as steadfast as when he is now an 8-year-old. "I am not leaving this village, Boyao."

Brett stayed for a month. Most of the time he tries to stick around his grandmother, but sometimes when she is napping or is being attended to by other neighbors for her showers and other needs Brett is not sure of, he ventures out. He plays his violin through the tiny village, with the few repertoires he already has, as gratitude to their neighbors for constantly taking care of Grandma Yang. He gets invited to their homes sometimes for meals, and Brett also ventures to the ocean with one of their fishermen neighbors. Other times, he sits by the dock and stares out into the breeze, thinking of his pending ABRSM exams and upcoming school semester. He thinks about how he is changing and the village has not, and how connected he still is with everything. 

Brett drops by the store when it gets too dark to grab some bubble tea and sips it on the way home. 

[ _Beethoven- Violin Sonata No. 9 (Kreutzer Sonata)_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgvETrPrfmQ)

"Brett, we need to talk." 

"We talked," Brett answered. He busies himself with putting his violin back into his case, strategically positions his back towards Eddy like a shield. 

"Not completely." Eddy pauses, and Brett thinks inwardly that sometimes Eddy just knows, like this telepathy they share, how to unfold the stubbornness Brett carries within him. "Toni broke up with me." Brett frowns, processing the information and clasping his case shut before he turns over. 

"Why?" Has Brett not given his blessings to the couple? "What did you do?" 

"More like, what I should have done a while back. This is the best decision for both of us." Eddy went and sat down on the sofa, patting the empty space next to him. "Talk to me, please." _I miss you_ , Brett screams inside, and yet he carefully sits down a distance away from Eddy. He notices Eddy's flinch and a deep intake of breath. "I am sorry for what I did, kissing you." Eddy starts again, his voice quiet and sorrowful. "That was unwarranted of me, and I apologize." Brett shuffles in his seat; he heard Eddy's gasp of air and realizes he has moved a bit closer unconsciously. He _wants_.

"What do you want?" he asks. By the other’s expression, he knew Eddy _understood_. He licks his lips and stares at Eddy, feeling his heart speeding. The situation almost feels like he is going to be confessed to, or something. Maybe it is all the manga he has been binge reading when he is too busy avoiding hanging out with Eddy. 

"For us to be friends again. _Please_ _."_ Brett hears the plea in Eddy's voice teetering low, and any resolve he may have had crumbled. Brett never keeps count when it comes to Eddy, but, for the first time, his friend had apologized for a major fuck up and Brett can feel the genuine urge to forgive. Fuck it, he thinks. Brett hugs Eddy, wrapping his hands around the other and holding him close. 

"Idiot, we are best friends," Brett answers, his cold, unwavering heart defrosting when Eddy wraps his hands around him in return. 

_Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No 2_

“Are ya for fucking real.” Andrea lifts an eyebrow at him. “Just like that?”

“Yes,” Brett answers simply. Andrea shakes her head and purses her lips.

“He breached 'ur boundary, mate.”

”He loves him,” Amanda helpfully supplies from the background. “If you messed up I would forgive you too if you apologize properly.”

“Babe!” Andrea looks away from the phone screen, presumably to her girlfriend who is giggling. Brett can not help and laugh as well, suddenly this tension is gone. Andrea sighs again and stares back at him.

“Amanda's right.” ‘Always,’ Amanda sing-songs from the background. “Stop rubbin' it in!” ’Just saying.’ “Ugh, so insufferable.” Andrea presses her lips together when she sees that Brett has not stopped laughing at their antics. “Well, anyway, this is who cha fucking are dude, ya're so into him it's ridiculous.” Brett agrees completely. “Just... be careful.” Andrea’s face shows concern, and Brett’s heart is full of warmth. “If he bullies cha again I will come to Brisbane and kick some Chen ass.” 

“Yes, mom!” Brett breaks into a tiny smile. Andrea stares in the air dramatically for a while, mumbling about annoying girlfriends and best friends, but after a while, she looks at Brett and smiles back. “Hey, thanks, mate. I really appreciate it.”

“No prob, Brettybang. Catch up later, ya?” Andrea says when Amanda calls out in the background. Brett waves and Andrea ends the video call. He flops back on his bed and closes his eyes, feeling some sort of peace. 

_Biber - Passacaglia in G Minor for solo violin_

They were in Singapore for the last leg of their world tour and other work-related purposes when the first coronavirus cases get reported in China. It will not be long before the infection is declared a pandemic and hit Singapore, hard. The world drops into turmoil, strangely resonating with Brett's internal feelings. They were already planning to stay at least for a month or two, but with the unexpected news, they started planning to lengthen their stay in Singapore. Brett makes some pasta as Eddy communicates with their editor-san on some effects for their next video and their plans for the next two months. He feels weirdly domestic in the shift of current events, as he sits down next to Eddy.

Brett passes his plate. Eddy took it quietly and starts eating, mind deep in thought. It has been about a few months or so since Brett first learned of Eddy's breakup with Toni, and ever since their last conversation about it, Brett can see that Eddy has changed as if something ignited inside. He leans against the sofa and looks at the back of Eddy's head, as Eddy eats a bite and types some more words into the email. Brett was a bit surprised when Eddy offered to take on some additional behind the scenes work, but it helps relieve him some stress and Brett has been liking Eddy’s input in matters that before were only left for him to make decisions on.

Brett briefly wonders about Toni, and how she is faring. Yet it is not in his place to reach out to her anymore, and so he just silently wishes that she is doing well.

”Bro, what do you think about this?” Eddy turns towards him suddenly, breaking his reverie. Brett looks at what Eddy is pointing at and peers at it intently. He offers his input, which Eddy nods and adds some more words on it. He stares at Eddy’s retreating figure and gingerly takes another bite. “Done!” Eddy announces, as he sends the email out and clasps his laptop shut. “TIME FOR FOOD!” His loudness makes Brett laugh, and Eddy shifts back to sit against the sofa, his plate in hand as he starts munching. “I think we are all set for our stay here for the time being. The food’s good, too.” 

“Just doing what I can,” Brett answers back, chuckling as well. “We can not depend on you to feed us.”

”Yes, we have to eat more.” Eddy suddenly glances at Brett’s arms, eyebrows furrowed. “You have been losing a lot of weight.” 

“Just work stress,” Brett replies, showing his now clean plate to Eddy. “I am still eating when I get hungry.”

The work stress part is real. The stress at being stuck in the same house as Eddy with no parents house as back up security, well, Brett just has to figure something out. 

“I hope so.” Eddy looks down on his plate as he picks up a forkful of pasta. “I had not seen you talking to Bob at all since we moved in.” He looks up again, waits for Brett patiently as he feeds himself. Brett’s mouth turns dry. “Trouble in paradise?” 

Brett had cleared the air on Andrea; the girl has cackled over the phone to Eddy as she playfully berated Brett on making her so mysterious. Eddy complains that they both did not even bother telling him of his misconception and even went along when he asked if they broke up when it was really just Andrea hanging out with Brett less because she started to go out with Amanda. They catch up a bit on their lives and both Brett and Eddy learn that Andrea is going to marry Amanda later that year. They are, of course, invited to the wedding. Brett _definitely_ does not think about the insinuation Andrea has implied with having Eddy tag along. 

“No...” Brett stutters, remembering clear as day that Eddy knows this lie. "There’s no Bob.” 

“Okay.” Eddy coolly responds. “So, you’re single?” 

Brett sees an expectant look from the other. “I suppose you can say I’m married to my work.” 

“And I’m the other half of TwoSet, so I can say you’re married to me, right?” Eddy teases him playfully. Brett rolls his eyes as Eddy flashes his toothy wide smile. 

“I guess you can say so.” Brett humors him. “It’s me versus all the fangirls thirsting over you.” 

Eddy’s laughs have been clearer recently; wider, more open, like he has let go of a lot of things. Brett guesses this is the post-breakup glow if there ever was such a term. Eddy puts his plate down and composes himself, biting his lip in contemplation. Brett levels his eyes, feeling some sort of anticipation. 

"Anyways, bro, can we have no more secrets between us?” Eddy asks. “Can we clear everything out so we don’t need to act awkwardly in the same house?” Eddy's eyes look hopeful, and Brett stills his eyes to provide anything _but_. "If anything, I can start." He coughs, clearing his throat. Brett thinks he has perfected the deadpan, unmoving look when Eddy became mildly anxious. "So, I never told you this but I accidentally spilled water on your violin case during high school years and blamed it on some random student because you were so angry about it. I am sorry for that.” 

Brett felt his lips tugging into a smile. Eddy has the audacity to look very much offended, crossing his arms together. His smile spreads even more. “Yes, I know it’s you. You’re a bad liar, bro.” 

“Indeed,” Eddy pouts. “You can look right through my lies.” 

“Well, we have known each other for so long.” Brett answers matter of factly. 

"As Ray said, we are some sort of married old couple." Eddy winks at Brett, and Brett laughs heartily. 

[ _Beyonce - Crazy In Love_ ](https://youtu.be/OM-jSt6x600)

Brett wakes up one morning to the closeup sleeping features of one Eddy Chen. Sleeping in one bed has been a norm to them, they have been doing so since they were boys and having sleepovers, so when they got the rental apartment in Singapore it makes sense to fashion one of the bedrooms in their two-bedroom to a recording space and share the other. The master bedroom they picked has a huge King sized bed that definitely fits both of them and more people if needed, so it did _not_ make sense that Brett’s limbs are tangled with the said best friend when they both went to bed on separate sides last night.   
  
Eddy breathes into his face, still very much sound asleep, and Brett belatedly realized that his morning wood is sticking onto Eddy’s thigh. To add to the mortification, Eddy nudges his nose closer to Brett's, and it almost feels like they could kiss... 

Brett removes himself from Eddy hastily and haphazardly lands on the floor. Eddy dives his nose against Brett's pillow, clearly still in dreamland. He makes a displeased face as if interrupted but continues sleeping. Brett can feel both his boner and his heart rate shooting up to the top of the roof. 

Brett edges to the bathroom and jerks himself off to the soft sleeping image of Eddy. When Eddy wakes up an hour later and grumbles about having a nightmare, Brett thinks about how close he was to going crazy. 

_Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto in E Minor OP.64, 3rd Movement_

Grandma Yang has been in love, of course, she has, she says, patting Brett's head as he lowers her head on her lap. He is going back to Australia tomorrow, and he feels this intense urge to spend the last trickling minutes with his grandmother. They both sat together on the steps outside of Grandma Yang's house, overlooking the beach. Brett would have loved to get them closer to the seawater, but he knew he does not have the energy to move her back and forth; there is only so much a young boy can do. So he settles for Grandma Yang's stories as he exchanges plans of his own once he goes back, and his concerns about not performing well, and somehow, they got to the story of the love of her life. 

"Ah, this gentleman." Grandma Yang swoons. "I was twenty years old when I met him. He was nice and kind, and unlike anyone else, I have ever met. He was interested in my violin, and so I played for him. Hikaru plays and composes for the piano, you see. His original plan was to be a musician. He came to Taiwan because he had no choice; it was either be a soldier, or his family will be shamed in Kyoto. I never seen him laid a hand on anyone, despite other soldiers' villainy." She sighed, caressing Brett's head. "We dated in the most simple way, Boyao; he wrote a lot of letters to me, and I wrote them back. We exchanged poetry and music sheets. My father knew of our relationship; he was displeased, but I was too young and stubborn, and with his occupation, I had access every day to meet Hikaru." 

"But you married Grandpa instead," Brett asks, confused. Grandma Yang smiles sadly, petting his head. 

"We were not meant to be. It was 1945, and the Japanese surrender was imminent. Hikaru had to go back to Kyoto with his battalion. He asked me to go with him, but I refused." She pulls out a small ring from her pocket, embedded with a small dazzling pearl. "He wanted to marry me, he says. Give us a better life. How could I leave when everything I know is here?" She stares at the ring, and Brett looks at it with wonder. "I know I will not be happy if I move to Japan. He is kind, but circumstances are not. Hikaru will not be happy either, in the long run." 

"Do you regret it?" Brett asks meekly, looking up at his grandmother's face. 

Tears formed immediately in Grandma Yang's eyes, and she wiped it away quickly with her fingers. "Sometimes, Boyao, what you need is sacrifices to show the other person how much you really love them." Brett's heart twists. "I met your Grandpa after the war. He was very good to me, and I know I married well. I like your grandfather, of course. He brought me to this fishing village, taught me about the beauty of this natural world. The marriage would not have been consummated if we are not fond of each other." 

"Grandma," Brett scratches his head in curiosity, "if love hurts so much, why do people seek it?" 

Grandma Yang smiles wistfully, adoringly looks at his face. "Because, my boy, when you find someone who you love, it is worth everything that you do."

_Khachaturian - Violin Concerto in D Minor_

“I’ll tell you a secret.” Brett starts as he sips his cup of tea. Eddy’s eyes open wide, and he stares at Brett intently. Brett looks at everywhere but Eddy as he takes a second sip for liquid courage. “I lied when I said I was gay since the second year of conservatory. I’ve known I’m gay for longer.” 

“When did you first liked a guy?” Eddy’s question sounded so innocent, it almost feels like a trap. 

“High school,” Brett answers promptly. 

“Who??? How come I did not know??” Eddy’s voice sharpened in curiosity. 

“You did not tell me when you started crushing on girls. It’s the same, yeah?” Brett is so calm, he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. Eddy sputters indignantly, and Brett knows the conversation is over. 

[ _Fei Yu-Qing - Yi Jian Mei (A Spray of Plum Blossoms)_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z_cS0U8oGs)

A letter from Taiwan came in the mail a month after Brett returned to Australia. It came sheathed with three music scores, and a small box: one the Taiwanese folk song, another The Adventures of Robin Hood. The third one was an original piano concerto that Brett does not recognize, and from the frayed edges of the other two, was clearly the most taken care of. The message was in Grandma Yang's Japanese. Papa Yang found someone to translate the letter for Brett to read. 

Grandma Yang has passed away peacefully in the night, with her last strength spent on writing. Brett pockets the box, knowing what it is, not daring to open it. He reads the translated letter instead.

It says that the items are to be inherited by Yang Boyao, and Boyao must take care of them well, as those are the last meaningful things to her in her lifetime. She has lived to a ripe age of 75, that is way longer than most of her peers who have died in the war. Even Hikaru, she says, has passed about twenty years ago. 

She went to find details on Hikaru after Grandpa Yang passed, Grandma Yang said, that is how she knew he has left the world. A search by a private investigator she had hired to comb through Kyoto showed what she feared most, that Hikaru had chosen not to marry after his return. He instead focused on becoming a piano maestro. Hikaru became very successful in his endeavors; his students and their descendants are now part of Kyoto's musical elite and are renowned in their own right, but she imagines that he was lonely until his death, with no companion by his side. 

Grandma Yang writes, _"Boyao, you asked me if I regretted leaving him after the war. I regret only that we were never meant to be, that he lived his last days alone. That our fate was but a short passing instance. That, I have to hold on to that brief joy for the monotony of the rest of my life to keep me going until the end."_

Brett keeps the letter close. He would not really understand it until many years later when one certain boy with a penchant for spinning tornadoes in his heart, gets his own love story and leaves Brett twirling in its aftermath. 

[ _Tchaikovsky - Melodie, Op. 42. No.3_ ](https://youtu.be/4_7cNJ6Bw-4?t=572)

They have been in Singapore for two months now. While in other countries the pandemic starts to get worse, in Singapore the number of cases has been dwindling down, enough for the lockdown to be eased and adequate for Brett and Eddy to book their flight back to Brisbane. Eventually, a second wave will hit Singapore, but that will happen after Brett and Eddy are safely back in Australia.

They started drafting plans for new apparel drops, a future diss track, some future collaborations, their two million subscribers live stream of Tchaikovsky, and other ideas for their upcoming tour that will now be postponed until the coronavirus pandemic clears out. Brett busies himself with work and Eddy hovers over him whenever Brett gets too stressed to take some time off.

This is how Eddy and Brett ended up on the sofa, playing some mobile game Eddy found on the App Store, a weird violin game they will most likely end up reviewing on video. Brett’s eyebrows furrowed as he tries to clear a stage, swiping his fingers feverishly over the screen. He huffs. “If this is your idea of unwinding, I can tell you this is not working.”

Eddy chuckles as he presses his back on Brett’s shoulder. “Ah, is this not fun?”

”No, this is horrible.” Brett makes a face of disappointment. He is imagining a roasting video in the works. “I would rather do something else.” Eddy perked up so much when Brett asks what they can do, Brett does not think that he imagined it. “Cuddle with your buddy time! Heart to heart!” Eddy puts his phone away and opens his arms wide. Brett deadpans and scoots even further away, putting a palm up to stop Eddy from coming closer.

“Please refrain.” 

“What about... this?” Gingerly, Eddy leans in and daringly kisses one of Brett’s outstretched fingers.

Brett could hear the noise from inside his chest, pumping loud in his ears. He could not have imagined this cheesiness even if he tried. Eddy kisses another finger, eyes not moving away from Brett. Clearly, his actions are not a jest. 

“Is this how you seduce girls?” Brett’s mouth is almost dry, unable to say words. 

“Are you telling me it is working?” Eddy asks. 

“I’m just saying you are really good at it.” Brett gulps. 

“Ah, but bro, I’m not a player. I only do this to people I like.” Eddy kisses the third finger, and Brett did not miss Eddy’s tone, all rich and sultry. Fuck, he feels his pants shifting. 

“This is so gay.” Brett sounded breathless, and he knows this has everything to do with the sight before him. “You’re not gay.” 

“No, I am not. But I am gay for you.” Eddy edges closer, envelopes Brett’s hand in his. Brett keeps staring. “You didn't say no outright, but you’re not saying yes either. Are you’re thinking in your head about the consequences?” 

“You’re right.” Brett sighs shakily. “This is very sudden and too much to unravel.”   
  
Eddy lets go of Brett’s hand, and he clutched his fingers into a fist, holding it close to himself, definitely not mourning a sudden loss of warmth. “Are you not interested in dating me?” Brett knows Eddy's disappointment is shining through his face. 

Collecting himself, Brett looks at the other earnestly, knowing the other to expect an answer. “I don't know."

Eddy smiles sadly as if realizing something. “I was your high school crush, wasn't I?” Brett’s building boner came crashing down at these last words, and he got tongue-tied. At Brett’s lack of a verbal response, Eddy’s face falls even more. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“There’s just no time for it.” Brett feels deflated, turned inside out. “I was figuring out many things in life.”   
  
“Why does this feel like an excuse.” Eddy answers. “I think you are trying to not hurt my feelings.” Eddy pauses, and he shifts uncomfortably. “Were you hurt when I brought up girls?" A pause and Eddy frowns. "Were you hurt when I started dating Toni?”

“I don’t remember anymore,” Brett replies very honestly. It was so long ago. Eddy's eyes search through his gaze, and Brett steels himself. As if coming to some sort of resolution, Eddy comes forward gently to hug Brett, mirroring their hug from a few months before. He tucks his chin on Brett’s shoulder, and Brett feels his shirt getting wet. He gently puts his hands on Eddy’s back, patting his best friend. 

“I love you, Brett. You are so good to me.” Brett hears Eddy whisper, and he closes his eyes, breathing in Eddy’s scent. 

“I love you too, Eddy,” Brett responds, swallowing the emotions down his throat. Let Eddy figure out what exactly he means.

He did not expect the incoming shiver, nor the light kiss on the side of his neck that followed after. Eddy’s arms move down to wrap around Brett’s waist, squeezes him tighter, and Brett indulges in that solace. 

_Debussy - Clair de Lune_

About a month earlier, during the announcement of the first cases of COVID-19, Singapore was getting ready for Chinese New Year. Eddy got Brett to put on caps and face masks to obscure themselves, and dragged him out to walk. They spent a whole day at Universal Studios at Resort World Sentosa. As Chinese New Year songs boomed through its speakers, they made silly poses with the mascots and took a lot of touristy pictures. Brett and Eddy went on all the rides and also made it a point to turn away when they see faces of recognition from fans.

Today, Eddy declares, is their day, as he sips down on his bubble tea drink. We are only going to be Brett and Eddy, not TwoSet Violin. Brett feels a little flutter in his chest, and am glad for the mask that covers the heat on his cheeks that is definitely not from the weather.

Universal Studios is famous for its fireworks event every evening, right after the sun sets. Eddy has been wanting to see them since he went to Japan's Universal Studios and missed out. Brett brings up no mention that it was Eddy and Toni's memory, while Brett had excused himself to spend time somewhere else. Yet, Brett could not say no when Eddy begs that they go see the so-called magical fireworks just this once, as Toni had called it.

When the announcement comes through the speakers, they both followed to where the crowds are congregating to get a good spot. The viewing platform was long and wide, made with steps on both sides, with railings on each side of the stair. 

They sat down by the steps facing where the fireworks will start and no one took heed of them, everyone too engrossed in their anticipation of the nightly event. 

The fireworks slowly blossom in the night, beautiful and eclipsing everything else as the pyrotechnics forms into various shapes and break into kaleidoscope colors. Eddy yawns, rubbing his cheek on Brett’s shoulder. Brett looks around zealously, wary about people watching them and figuring out who they are, but both of them have blended in so well with the audience to spark any sort of attention. Brett sees a few couples kissing while bathed by the illumination of the sky. He makes out one same-sex couple amidst the ocean of people, before looking back at the boy next to him. Eddy's cap is covering his face, so he cannot see Brett's expression. Buoyed by the tenderness of the situation, Brett bends over and subtly kissed the top of Eddy’s cap. 

Brett definitely does not care about fireworks, but if he gets to see it with Eddy, he guesses he does not mind for it to be part of another memory between them. 

On the MRT, Eddy murmurs that the Universal Studios fireworks are not as marvelous as he has thought they will be. Brett laughs and tucks Eddy's chin on his shoulder, as Eddy dozes off again.

_Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal_

It is delightful for Brett, seeing Eddy’s vigor after being wheelchair-bound for the past eight months. The doctors have finally agreed that Eddy is completely healed and does not need to remain in the wheelchair anymore. 

Eddy hops along the street ledge and proceeds to moonwalk like Michael Jackson, complete with hip thrusts, not caring about people watching. Eight months of confinement can do wonders for a person's self-confidence, Brett muses. Eddy poses, pretends he is the King of Pop in the flesh, and points a finger in the air. "Mark my words, Brett Yang. I will go back to school and practice until I get back to as good as I was before." 

"Are you aiming for the second violin chair?" Brett teases. Eddy laughs and sits down, clearly tired out from his previous performance. He gestures Brett to come over, who does. 

"Not just that, bro... I am reconsidering my options. Clearly, I cannot be a soloist anymore." When Brett has settled down, Eddy looks into thin air, thoughtful. "Not enough time to catch up with only one year until graduation. I want to do something, different." 

"What are you thinking?" Brett asks in curiosity, gazing at his friend. 

"I think, I want to spread this love of classical music. Hear me out." Eddy raises his hands in the air as if conducting a choir. Brett briefly thinks Eddy may just be over-exaggerating so that he can move his limbs even more. "Like via some sort of outlet. Like street performance, or combining repertoires.. with something else." 

"I'm down with you, whatever it is." Brett declares. Eddy looks at him, clearly surprised. He thinks about his audition a few months back for employment at the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, and it definitely through pure luck that he secured a temporary seasonal contract. 

"But Brett, you are _great_!" Eddy sputters. "How could they put you as a temp of all people?"

Brett shrugs at Eddy's face of aghast. "I think it is meant to be." Brett does not mention that on that day, he was too distracted thinking about Eddy's phone call, telling him that he was able to finally run longer than a minute during physical therapy. That joy, he thinks, completely illuminated his audition excitement. The panel had told him, 'you do not seem to be quite here today, Brett Yang,' and he had not refuted it. 

He looks at the choice of his life and does not regret anything.

[ _Stravinsky - Rite of Spring_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiDqiZhM7Tc)

Andrea curses him out for being so stoic one morning, and Brett yawns on the phone and reminds her of the time difference. He is careful to make sure that Eddy is out to get breakfast before he picks up her call. He sits on a couch and props his legs together, taking in the morning breeze. Singapore can be cool in the mornings, just before the sun basks, and then they have to switch on air conditioners. At those brief moments, he thinks about the morning chilly air in faraway Taiwan when he and Grandma Yang would head out on the boat, so they will already be in the sea before it gets too hot. 

“Maybe this is why ya should just tell your best friend everything instead of bitching to me.” Andrea rattles on, a pitch too high for Brett’s liking. “Eddy clearly likes cha, asks if cha want to date him, and cha dumbass said no. Did 'ur brain cells died or something? Also, don’t ya dare put the receiver away from ya ear, I'm yelling for good reason.”

Brett switches her call back to the phone in mode. “You are my best friend too. I did not say no. Also, it’s not bitching, you asked how I am living with Eddy and so I told you how things are.” 

“We both clearly know Eddy leads by a mile. Cha didn’t say yes either. I would've thought you're dying to jump on his dick.” Brett imagines Andrea rolling her eyes, his face a furious red at Andrea’s words. He rubs one palm on his cheek unconsciously. “Has responsibility and all the likes corrupted 'ur head? Dude. Cha single. He's single. Cha both like each other. It has been months since Toni. What the fuck are ya thinking?” 

“Andrea...” Brett pleads. “Spare me your talk. I don’t want to talk about this with you.”

“Then talk to me.” Eddy murmur audibly in the background.   
  
“Ya, talk to Eddy... wait a minute.” Andrea paused. Brett feels hairs rising at the back of his neck. It was not that long when Eddy left, has he? “I've errands to do bye!” 

The phone clicks, ending the conversation from Andrea's end. 

Brett feels Eddy’s presence looming behind him. He prays for strength internally and turns back meekly to the sight of Eddy, who is standing really close behind Brett. “I was going to say I forgot my wallet, but breakfast can wait.” Eddy walks around and plops down right next to Brett, making their thighs touch. Brett thinks he saw a tent peek through Eddy’s shorts, but he did not look down, maintaining eye contact with the other. Eddy sounded husky, and the tone sent twitches right down Brett’s groin.

Brett takes a deep breath. He feels the solidity of the serpentine cavern standing between his heart and Eddy. 

“Why did your crush never went away even after so many years?” Eddy starts carefully, eyes tender, and drilling into Brett’s soul. “What kept you holding on?”

Brett can answer many things. They were together almost every day, they liked almost all the same things. So he said those, all the while as Brett's eyes stray everywhere but at Eddy's. Eddy listened and tapped his knee. Brett followed that hand motion and noticed the tent was still visible. He feels his own building. Excuses. Eddy replies. They were apart when Brett went to conservatory, when Brett went to Sydney, and when Eddy started dating Toni. Brett’s heart clutches when he sees Eddy’s face, talking bout Toni. 

“... Toni knew before I did.” Eddy suddenly said. “When we were in Tokyo.” Brett looks up. He does not remember Eddy being awake when he spoke to her. Eddy seems to understand Brett’s reaction. “It was hazy, but I remember you telling her, it was getting harder. She was... thanking you. Is it right, what I am thinking of?" 

Brett’s panic increases with the twitching in his pants. He is sure he has a full-blown boner now. From Eddy’s demeanor, he could guess the other’s had not gone away either. He quietens down, whatever he wanted to say disappear. He feels Eddy's grasp of understanding. 

“Mate, I’m hard. I can tell you are too.” Eddy whispers. “This is not a reaction I will get with someone I consider a mere best friend.” He shifts closer. Brett made no move to run. “Can we put worry to the wind, like how we were when we started TwoSet? Where is the risk-taking Brett Yang that I have always known and admire?” 

Brett shakes his head vehemently. “I cannot lose you.” Eddy seethes and reaches for Brett’s fingers, but Brett pulls away, not allowing him to touch. 

“How long are you going to be stubborn for?” Eddy snarls, his voice increasing in pitch. Brett is so fucked because he finds it hot. “Why do you do this?” 

“I don’t want to lose you, Eddy.” Brett grits his teeth. “I just want to keep you by my side always, okay? Even if it means I’ll never be able to love you like I want to—” 

“Can I kiss you?” An unbidden slice through the constriction.

Having his rant cut short, Brett blinks, his breathing still labored. He stares at Eddy in what he thinks must be wild eyes. Eddy edges closer slowly, giving Brett silent permission to avoid if he wanted to. Brett wants. Eddy leans in, kisses him softly, his eyes fluttering down. Brett closes his own as he feels Eddy’s arm hold onto his shoulder. He feels himself responding back. It was fleeting, the touch of Eddy’s lips, that Brett could barely register when it’s gone. Like a magic hour slipping by, Brett opens his eyes again to Eddy beaming at him. This kiss was not like the one in recent memory. This one did not make Brett panic or want to make a run for the hills. 

They kiss again.

This time, Brett initiated with more fervor. He drums his hand along Eddy’s collarbone; presses a palm against Eddy’s heart. The other’s heartbeat mirrors his in intensity, and he gasps when Eddy presses their chests together, deepening the kiss. He feels Eddy wrap his legs around Brett, allowing their erections to grind against each other, and Brett could almost feel an unprecedented high off the harsh rubbing. He licks Eddy’s mouth and feels another jolt when Eddy’s tongue meet in kind.

Eddy reaches inside his pants, gives it a nice, long stroke. He is throbbing so hard that Eddy’s mere touch was almost tipping him over the edge, even if it is dry and raw and Brett will definitely feel the sting later. He barely remembers to pull out Eddy’s erection. Their lips did not stop connecting until Brett feels the increasing speed of friction from Eddy’s hold making him come. He strokes faster and Eddy followed not long after. 

Brett slumps onto Eddy's shoulder, released, exhausted, and relieved, all at once. He hears Eddy's stomach growling and Eddy's sheepish words that they will probably need to get breakfast soon. Eddy kisses his cheek, and Brett inwardly marvels that he is already thinking of how he can teach Eddy to make their next time more pleasurable. 

[ _Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto in D Major, I. Allegro moderato_ ](https://youtu.be/iyJ6ZsAuT-M?t=436)

“Hey, you, rise and shine!” Eddy grins, wiggling his eyebrows as Brett groans. "Today's the day." 

"Do not remind me." Brett tries to wrestle the blanket away from Eddy but fails miserably. The warmth is gone, in place with cold air from the airconditioner brushing against his whole body, and Eddy's lips on his. 

"It is important, we came all the way to this! Come, I got breakfast." Eddy kisses sideways alongside his cheek until he reaches Brett's ear. "You have about," Eddy pauses for dramatic effect before enunciating softly. "Thirty minutes to get ready." Brett's eyes open wide immediately.

"Shit!" 

_Kreisler - Schon Rosmarin_

"Bro, you nervous?" Eddy nudges Brett, who shuffles uneasily in his tuxedo. He nods and touches his collar, adjusts his boutonniere again for the tenth time that hour. 

"How do I look?"

"Dapper." Eddy gives him a thumbs-up, and Brett exhales. He stands in place again, hands slowly putting by his sides. He looks at the altar and the wedding arch towering over it, all decorated in beautiful bright red tulips and bunches of baby's breath that Brett had input on, and at the pastor, who Eddy had recommended. Eddy hooks their pinkies together, and Brett looks back to a dashing, dazzling smile. He grins back, and Eddy lets go of their fingers. He hears a cue from the wedding coordinator in his earpiece.

Amanda was the mastermind behind the wedding arrangements; Brett knows Andrea means well, but when she started suggesting having candy canes for decorations instead of flowers, Amanda and Brett immediately put a stop to that thought and have her take care of other things instead. Like flying Eddy and Brett over from Brisbane to Perth, for example, and the food and guests invitations. Granted, the wedding got delayed by a whole half a year, but it was a smart decision on Andrea's end so that everyone can attend without the hovering uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic.

Being the first violin, Brett nods to Eddy and the rest of their quartet, composed of Andrea and Amanda’s Perth Orchestra mates. _Schon Rosmarin_ begins, and the audience stood up. From the entrance, a lady dressed in a black tuxedo enters the wedding venue. Her steps are too rough in heels, and her pose inelegant, but she walks up to the arch with no problem even if her heel clicks sharply interferes with the orchestral score. She knows this, as she catches Brett's stare and sticks a tongue out at him. 

The other bride steps in, as Brett flips the music sheet to the next page. She is in a veil and an angelic white dress. Her steps are small and beautiful, and she holds a bouquet of white roses in her hands. Her favorite, Brett remembers Andrea saying. If there are angels descending from heavens, that would be close to how Amanda quietly amazes the small gathering under all the fall foliage.

Amanda reaches the altar and Andrea looks at her most fondly. Brett feels himself swooning inside. 

After the couple has been officially validated by the priest as wife and wife, everyone descended into mealtime. Being Andrea's best man, Brett is seated in her table. Amanda is talking to her bridesmaids, leaving Andrea and Brett alone to converse. Brett has lost count of the number of drinks Andrea has had, but she loops an arm around his shoulder and points at the visage of Eddy a few tables away, looking very uncomfortable with the other girls in the same table giving him a lot of attention, with _more_ girls from other tables slowly coming over.

"Mate," Andrea utters, sounding completely displeased. "Can cha go do something 'bout that puppy of 'urs? I can't have my wedding turn into a blind date event!" Brett gazes over. Eddy matches his eyes and his face lit up like lights in a Christmas tree. Andrea makes a frustrated noise and Brett inwardly cheers at his friend's disposition. 

Brett stood up, brushing his tux down. “Fine, fine, for your wedding.” Amanda seems to hear him as she turns back from her bridesmaids, and nodding at Brett, slides back to Andrea's side.   
  
Task alleviated, he walks over to Eddy’s table, slightly nervous. He sees the majority of girls who have been talking to Eddy notice his presence, but no one really made a move to stop their harassment. 

With some courage, he places a hand on Eddy’s shoulder and whispers closely in his ear, if Eddy wants to dance with him, his roving eyes through the table as he does so enough to give a warning. He feels Eddy’s tremble reverberating through his being and then the other stand up, tone as even as possible as he apologizes curtly, but he has to leave now. 

Brett prides in himself that he did not flinch when Eddy places a palm on the small on his back firmly, in the view of all the ladies, leading him to the dance floor. 

[ _London Grammar - Wasting My Young Years_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UC4URCiVPE)

There was really no deep discussion or heartfelt declarations when Brett finally agreed to date Eddy, their last day in Singapore before they fly back to Brisbane. It was probably always meant to be, this connection that has strung them together for the longest time, and while it has taken them eons to figure out that wherever it leads, their paths would always conjoin back together. 

He was sitting on the couch, typing some stuff on his laptop, and just thinking about how parched his throat was when he sees Eddy walking through the entrance.

"Bro, delivery!" Eddy brings up two cups of bubble tea. "This is for you." He passes a cup to Brett, who takes it eagerly and starts sipping. 

"Thanks, dude, I needed that." Brett grins at Eddy, who has, of course, got his order right without asking. 

"Like you need me." Eddy sits down beside Brett and starts drinking his as well. 

"You mean, as you need me," Brett teases back, and Eddy daringly puts a hand on his arm. 

"We need each other, then, that is the only viable conclusion." Eddy dramatically announces, and Brett squints suspiciously when Eddy sneakily slides his laptop shut and puts it on the front table away from them.

“Where do we start to get to this ending?” Brett turns to look at Eddy, raising an eyebrow in curiosity, as he feels mischief bubbling up his throat. The oblivious other inclines forward towards him, his eyes sparkling. Brett thinks he does not mind this dazzle.

”Well, we have to start first with being friends, then become best friends in the _whole wide world_ ,” Eddy emphasizes the last words, and Brett scoffs playfully at that, “and then we become business partners and then,” he stretches an arm out dramatically, “we become each other’s partners. How does that sound?”

”Sounds like you planned this since we first met. Very shady.” Brett strokes his chin with his free hand. “Should I be worried? Is this bubble tea drugged so I will be plaint?” 

Eddy shakes his head and placed a hand on Brett’s shoulder. “Mate. Never!” 

Brett chuckles at Eddy’s mock flabbergasted reaction. He leans in and kisses Eddy’s nose. ”Alright, let’s talk about it.” 

“I want to define us properly, you know? We have been somewhat... together for some time now, and we are not really _bros_ , nor are we friends with benefits.” Eddy announces bravely, and Brett sees Eddy’s cheeks turn so rosy red that he feels himself blushing as well. “You’re not a rebound.”

Brett believes. He has never disbelieved Eddy, not even when he knows Eddy is lying. He knows Eddy is not. 

“So, this is cheesy and you’re not a girl and this isn’t like a normal date where I bring you out to impress you or something, but would you like to be my boyfriend?” 

Brett and Eddy are only two boys sitting on a couch, doing their most favorite thing in the world, one day at a time. Even while the world is slowly collapsing outside and no one knows when this turmoil may end, Eddy is like this bright beacon of hope that Brett grabs on tight to. 

If Brett has to pick someone to face an apocalypse with, who else better to do it than his best friend who he has been through thick and thin and gotten stronger out of it? He racks his brains.

”I am worried, Eddy, about us. About the uncertainty and where we would go if things do fail. I don’t usually think about this, but when it comes to you, I second guess myself a lot.” Brett pauses when he sees Eddy’s eyes flicker. “I made a resolution to myself, a long time ago, that I will stick by your side no matter what, and I thought I could fulfill that just by being your friend.” He places his fingers on Eddy’s hand on his shoulder, gently removing it so he can grasp it in his lap, thinks of a lot more he can actually say. Maybe those were actually unneeded for the moment, and the earnestness in Eddy’s expression can smooth over his unsaid words. “I guess what I want to say is, yeah, sure I want to be your boyfriend.” 

“Fucking finally.” Eddy lunged forward and hugs him, and Brett accounts to years of sitting up properly during orchestra recitals to his bubble tea not spilling. “It took too long, I am almost worried.”

”Sap.” Brett murmurs, taking a sip of his bubble tea contentedly as his hand wrap around Eddy’s back. Maybe it is just him, but the drink suddenly tastes a lot sweeter.

Brett feels like he is home. 

[ _Bach - Violin Partita No.3 in E Major BWV 1006, 1. Preludio_ ](https://youtu.be/cuAUy3z_-XA?t=569)

Brett sits down in front of the grand piano in Eddy’s place, _their_ place, he corrected himself.

Brett moved in with Eddy temporarily when they came back to Brisbane, mainly because they needed to self-quarantine for 14 days as a health measure. After that ended, Brett stayed around because TwoSet was always working until late hours, and then Eddy could always find reasons to get Brett to stay the night. It ranged from normal worries like it is too late for Brett to drive home, to Eddy wanting more cuddles, more kisses, and _other things_ that Brett could have only dreamed of in the past but are now becoming a reality. 

For TwoSet's work, Brett had to constantly bring things over from his parents to Eddy's. At first, it was minor things like music sheets and his laptop, since they are always working a lot in Eddy's house. Then it progressed to clothes, so they can have outfit changes in between recording bulk videos. As tempting as it was just to wear Eddy's, Brett has lost so much weight that Eddy's clothes will hang on him, so. Then they needed the viola for some videos, so Brett bought it over and left it on Eddy's couch. Then it was his bass and guitar, which he had for some time but had not played in a while. They came and got stacked against a wall, along with a whole bunch of Eddy's things, looking so natural as if they had belonged from the beginning. 

It really set in that Brett has taken up permanent occupancy at Eddy's when he goes back to his parents' home for a bit to see that his room has been refashioned for his nephew without his knowledge. His parents, of course, was not surprised when he mentioned that he is dating Eddy, _you really think we didn't know all these years?_

And so, Brett resigned himself to cohabitation when he told Eddy about the state of his room and Eddy is way too happy to offer his place for Brett to share for good. 

He taps a few keys on the piano, testing the tune and his own muscle memory. Brett takes out his music book and pulls it to his lap, going through the pages until he finds what he was looking for. He wipes the laminated sheet quickly against his shirt to remove any speckle of dust, before placing it on the piano carefully. Although Brett is not a professional piano player by any means, this is the oldest music sheet he owns and the only one he can truly say he has mastered over the years. 

He stretches out his fingers and plays. The familiarity of the music seeps into his ears, and he relaxes into the keys. Brett closes his eyes as he thinks about Grandma Yang and Hikaru, who waited for her until the end.

The piece is short and sweet, and when Brett finishes, a small clap came from the door. He does not need to turn to know who it was, and the owner of the applause came to sit down right beside him, playing two notes. 

“I never heard you play this before. Who's the composer?” Eddy picks up the sheet to read its title, which was annotated in Japanese kanji. 

”Someone who's in love with my grandmother.” Brett answers. “It’s been with her for years before she gave it to me.” 

“It is beautiful.” Eddy muses, tapping a few more notes. “Sounds like he loved her very, very much.” Brett nods, eyes far away briefly in distant memory. “I feel your emotions too, playing this. Is it because you are in love that you interpreted this so perfectly?” 

Brett deadpans at Eddy's growing smirk and tucks the music sheet away in his book again. “This is for my grandma’s remembrance.” 

Eddy puts his hands around Brett’s shoulders and shakes him. “Dude, tell me you love me.” Brett pretends to shudder, making a face. Brett feels kisses all over his face and nuzzles around his neck, and he sighs at how easy it still is to unravel to Eddy's wants and needs. He holds Eddy's cheek and plants a peck on his lips.

"One day I may write a concerto for you." Brett chuckles as Eddy's eyes glimmer in delight. 

"That is the most romantic declaration I have ever heard." Eddy angles their mouths to kiss Brett again, deeper this time, and his hands start to roam into Brett's jumper.

Brett's thoughts wander to the contents in the box he still holds dear and wonders what Eddy will think about _that_. 

[ _Edele - Cello_ ](https://youtu.be/cXqqyTwl-Ao?t=48)

The first time Brett meets Eddy, he was 14 years old and almost dying of boredom. Mathematics was never his strong suit at school, and he does not think he will need a lot of it in the future he has planned out for himself. He could only think of his first day at the local youth orchestra tomorrow when the door flings open and another Asian kid saunters in. Clearly late, he mumbles a quiet apology to the filled room and walks all the way to the back, where Brett has situated himself and the only empty seat remains. He sits down and for a brief moment, Brett smells a whiff of salty water. He looks at the other on confusion.

”Sorry, I almost forgot that class starts today, I came here straight from the beach. Did I miss out much, uh...?” The other boy was talking really fast as he takes out his books and pencils. The teacher redirects their attention to the whiteboard.

“Brett Yang. I can go over what you missed later, you only missed about half an hour of class.” Brett introduces himself, flashing his teeth that are adorned with braces.

“Eddy Chen, and yeah, thanks.” Eddy grins back, showing his crooked teeth. Silence permeates them as the teacher continues discussing the next question. 

The scent lingers for the rest of the lesson.

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline of real events:  
> Pre-2006: Brett and family move from Taiwan to Australia.  
> 2006: Eddy and Brett meet in math tutoring, and again in youth orchestra  
> 2009: Brett starts studying in conservatory  
> 2013: Brett graduates conservatory  
> 2014: TwoSet Violin is formed, Eddy graduates conservatory  
> 2015: Toni and Eddy started dating, Eddy joins the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Brett goes to Sydney to be a fellow for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra  
> 2017: Brett and Eddy gives up on their orchestral careers and forms a Kickstarter, busking in Sydney, Toni moves to Japan  
> 2018: Toni returns to Australia  
> 2019: Eddy and Toni break up  
> 2019/2020: coronavirus pandemic, Eddy and Brett stays in Singapore for a few months
> 
> Disclaimers:  
> Anything mentioned in the fic that did not belong to the above timeline is fabricated. Any inaccuracies are unintended. 100% self-indulgent fic. 
> 
> [Minnan, 闽南话, Taiwanese, 台语](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Min) \-- in my head, I tried to piece why Brett's Mandarin is childlike, and I came up with two reasons. 1) he went to Australia as a very young child, 2) he grew up speaking Taiwanese instead of Mandarin. (I could be wrong and Brett switched entirely to English after his move.) Taiwan was under Japanese occupation for about 50 years, so Grandma Yang has received [Japanese education](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_under_Japanese_rule). I picked the name Hikaru because it means 'light' in Japanese. The fresh fish eating in the boat tidbit came from Brett's love for sushi, also because it’s common practice for fishermen to eat their catch when on the sea for long periods.
> 
> Yang Boyao: 杨博尧, Brett's Chinese name.
> 
> ABRSM: music exam. There are eight grades in total, according to Twoset.
> 
> [Perth Symphony Orchestra](https://perthsymphony.com/) is a not-for-profit professional symphony orchestra based in Perth, Western Australia. The orchestra performs in places and spaces not naturally associated with classical music, and challenges traditions in terms of concert presentation and the genres of music it performs. This setup works for Andrea who in my head is an independent soul that thrives off beating societal norms. 
> 
> I fabricated the reason for Eddy in a wheelchair. 100% fake. No idea why he’s in one, in my fic his timeline for the incident is when he is studying at the conservatory so I ran with it. I do not have a medical background. As of today (August 24th, 2020), Eddy’s reason of being in a wheelchair is still unknown. Thank you TwoSetMoon3 for correcting me. Previously this was written as ‘Eddy had a biking accident’ on August 14th 2020. This is my error in not catching Eddy’s humor in the ‘Draw Our Loves’ video properly.
> 
> I went to Universal Studios Singapore (USS) many years ago. I don’t know if the layout has changed, but my description of the fireworks viewing platform is based on my memory.
> 
> Bright red tulips mean everlasting love, according to brief research. White roses signify purity, loyalty, trust, and hope, and are the traditional flowers used for brides. Is not a coincidence that Amanda loves them, as it also symbolizes what she stands for in this fic. Fall in Australia is around March-May. 
> 
> Passage breaks are songs/pieces that have been performed, hummed, or discussed by Brett Yang, except for one. Thanks, TwoSet Violin, for introducing me to various classical pieces (and that it's not all always so strict and formal!).
> 
> There is a lot of symbolism and circling around in this fic, I hope you enjoyed finding them as much as I enjoyed writing them. :) 
> 
> A/N:  
> Kudos and comments are appreciated and loved. Thank you so much to everyone who has left kudos and comments in the first two stories in this universe, I am really grateful to the TwoSet fanfic community. 
> 
> Writing Brett's POV is very hard for me, compared to Toni’s and Eddy’s, as he is very much different from Toni and Eddy (in my bias goggles). While writing, this fic transformed from a perspective fic into an investigation of Brett's life, which I think is appropriate considering Brett spends about half of his life in love with Eddy and because I could not shake the feeling that Brett’s actions are questionable in the last two fics and I want to explain more on how he came to be as an adult. I also developed an attachment to fic Toni and Grandma Yang while writing this series, and have included more scenes with them because I can.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Gin & Tonic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25290073) by [Mawmeggins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mawmeggins/pseuds/Mawmeggins)




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